How long do you actually need to study for CASPer?

[LiconC]

I'm applying to McMaster (CASPer is 33% of pre-interview scoring), so I really want to knock it out of the park, but I am having trouble determining what is a reasonable amount of time. The BeMo book said 6-8 weeks which, to me, seems like an insane amount of time. Given its important to me to get a really good score, how long do you think is sufficient of full-time studying. 

Thank you for your time and energy.

[bearded frog]

uh "studying" for casper should only take a weekend or so. Its the same prep as for an MMI interview. Review the tenants of medical ethics, lots of people read Doing Right which basically covers it (try getting it from the school or local library) otherwise just have a good knowledge of the Canadian health care system and current issues. Beyond that its just practicing how to interpret a prompt in the context of ethics and being able to quickly understand and state the issues and defend an opinion on the outcome.

[theevilsloth]

As far as I know there is no medical ethics on the casper test, so I'm not sure how much doing right will actually help you. 

[bearded frog]

There is, or at least there was, unless its changed in the past couple of years.

[drdaydream]

I think 6-8 weeks is probably reasonable especially assuming you're a full-time student and will have to practice around your school responsibilities. You definitely don't need to be studying 24 hours a day for 6-8 weeks lol. You're not cramming for an exam. But there's lots of things you can be doing in that time, there's learning: in the beginning researching CASPer, the format, learning about types of questions, learning about how to structure your answers, finding sample questions and answers, reading up on some medical ethics, reading up on current issues and news. And practicing: practicing with sample questions and scenarios so you can apply your strategies, practicing with timed questions and tests, etc. I would definitely spend more than a weekend prepping for MMI, or any interview really

[Matty66]

I studied for about a week (including 3-4 days of practice questions) and am pretty sure it went well (I got interviewed at Ottawa last year) so I wouldn't study for much more than that. I would recommend that you do multiple full-length practice tests before the test (even if it means purchasing some online) as it can really help you get comfortable with the timing of the test.

[bins]

I want to repeat that it depends on you and what time you need to feel comfortable. I didn't practice except for practice answering questions in that format and typing under the time pressure. However, I had a pretty solid background in ethics, imo. My friend practiced for 2 weeks before she felt comfortable. Just remember, above all else, don't be a dick.